Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Oh - look what I did
Oh - Oh - look what I made
Oh Oh Oh - come see what I found
OMG - you're going to go crazy when you see this

We'd be jumping up and down at our little desks, all screaming and squealing with delight
and coveting what the little girl next to us was making or doing - or painting - or.................

We'd frantically be drawing pictures of things we loved and putting them in scrapbooks so that we could look at them over and over again.

At recess we'd be showing off our snacks - our very pretty snacks

At lunch time we'd be beaming with pride as beautiful goodness fell out of our lunch boxes..............

We'd have slumber parties where every one would ooooh and ahhhh over the gorgeous linens and matching curtains ( created out of drop cloths ) as we all gathered in a circle to create wreaths with the left over remnants.

While other little girls were painting actual pictures - we'd be painting the Teacher's desk - and distressing it slightly for authenticity - and the more ambitious of us would do all the student's desks in complimentary colors.

If our shoes got scuffed we'd cover them with Duct Tape and create little masterpieces as we danced our ways down the hall.

Stickers would mysteriously go missing from Teacher's supplies - and show up covering the lunch room walls

Ink pads would be " borrowed " on a frequent basis to decorate chairs with

We'd all be going through the trash cans at the end of the day frantically salvaging old rulers.

After we brought the Teacher an apple - we'd ask if we could take photos of it

And chalkboards?
Well they just wouldn't know what hit them
The Teachers would turn around to write something on it - and there before their very eyes would be
exquisitely written recipes - or scripture or Welcome Spring - or Fall or Winter ( summer they'd remain nice and clean since we wouldn't be there )

AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR REPORT CARDS WOULD READ:

LITTLE blank ( insert name here ) HAS ONE OF THE SEVEREST CASES OF A.D.D. I'VE YET TO SEE IN MY CAREER.

Today?
We call it blogging
Welcome to our world !

P.S.
Don't knock it
Annie Sloan must have been one of those little girls stealing CHALK from the Teachers - maybe she started off mixing it with her milk at lunch - but look what she created !

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

I came across a house in Brunswick, Missouri for 39,000 and I've fallen head over heels with the potential in this home -
THIRTY NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS - we paid 8 times that amount for something that will never have this type of " bones "

All photos and commentary are from THIS OLD HOUSEPrice: $39,000Location: Brunswick, Missouri
2200 square feetContact: Blake Dankert, 660-815-0381

The History: City Clerk William Finch, who built this Folk Victorian in the 1880s, was known locally for his meticulous attention to detail. In fact, an excerpt from his obituary reads, "His books were the perfection of neatness and accuracy and his work gave the best of satisfaction."

It should come as no surprise, then, that he was equally detail-oriented in designing this home, where he lived most of his life with his wife, Adeline, and where they raised their three children. The Finches sold the house in the 1940s, and it has since been home to five more families. The current owner began a restoration but now needs to move, before it can be completed.

Shown: This elaborate pediment was once the roof of a second-floor balcony over the entry. The balcony has since been replaced with square support columns.

What It Needs: The three-bedroom, one-bath house needs extensive repairs to the plaster walls on the second floor. Most of the first floor has been stripped to the studs, so it's a good time to reconfigure the layout and add a second bathroom. The roof and furnace have been replaced, and the electrical has been updated.

Shown: As evidenced by this window bay, the home's ornate woodwork is intact on the first floor. Most of the walls, however, have since been opened to the studs.

Brunswick is a small town of 850 along the Missouri River, about two hours east of Kansas City. The town is currently undergoing a revitalization, making this the perfect time to invest in it by buying and restoring one of its most charming houses.

Shown: The bright and airy master bedroom has a decorative fireplace surround and bench seating built into the bay window.

One of the home's four mantels.

The front door's original etched-glass sidelights.

The staircase's carved walnut newel.

The house is filled with intricate walnut millwork, which has been well preserved.

And IF you wanted to visit a city with a European flair but didn't want to leave the continent - well you could visit Montreal - and if you wanted to make it very special you could stay in " Old Montreal " - and be transported back in time by staying at this beautifully Romantic Inn.................

Sunday, April 27, 2014

I'm a very impatient person - wish I weren't but I've always been - since as far back as I can remember.

Too impatient to wait for gardens to bloom
Too impatient to wait for new books by favorite authors to come out
Too impatient for Spring to arrive - and then too impatient for Summer to come and finally too impatient for Christmas to be here - which brings me back to being too impatient for Spring to arrive - a vicious circle and a true example of how now to live. Talk about destroying " living in the moment ".
Too impatient to wait for paint to dry
Too impatient to wait until funds are replenished to finish renovations.

It's an awful way to be - and I wish more than anything that that particular trait of mine were NOT a particular trait of mine.

It's a trait that falls under the category of " negative " and while I am usually an upbeat type of person I just can't shake it.

A glass is ALWAYS half empty in my world and I'm constantly dashing around trying to fill it up to the brim.

So this morning when I went into ( what I'll very loosely call the " mud room " ) I nearly wept.
It seems like I never stop - and yet every time I turn around there's another monumental task that
will zap all my energy and money ( of which we are close to being paupers with this whole renovation business )
I panic - and this is a sample of what goes through my mind because I truly intend for this house to be party central this summer - with the pool and all - you have to read the next bit very very quickly to see how my mind works

people will have to come through this s*it hole to get to it - and what will they think - and OMG I HAVE to do something with it - it's just unacceptable - I'll die of embarrassment - and maybe they can come through the front garden and through the gate to get to the back - but oh oh - they'll have to use the bathroom at some point so there's no escaping it - everyone's going to see it - but there's still so much to do INSIDE the house - and how can I justify doing this little section when we're drowning in a million other sections................. All that was crowding my brain in a matter of seconds.

I literally sat down on the chair below and put my head in my hands..................( feel sorry for me yet? )

and then I looked up and saw this - I mean I really saw it - and perhaps because of the stark contradiction
I was almost taken aback...........I'm in and out of this back room many many times a day - is it really possible that I never took the time to actually see how far we've come?

I've been so busy filling glasses I haven't taken the time to be thankful for what we've accomplished
Not at all.

John says - WHY are you sitting there taking pictures of the kitchen?
Suzan says - Looking at my glass from a different angle
John says - What glass?
Suzan says - The one that's always half empty
John says - You're the most nonsensical person I know
John says - It's like living with the bloody Riddler

I'm more impressed than I can tell you that he even knows who the Riddler is...................
But I'm too busy looking at my half full glass to pay him any mind really

At least that's the way it looks to me while looking in from the mudroom

Trust me when I tell you it looks seriously half empty from every other view in this house :)

But dare I say the worst may just be over? ( ok - there's a bathroom that's just as bad - but it's a bathroom not an entire kitchen )

Think I'll hang out in the mud room more often - bring a book out there - with a half filled glass of wine instead of whine- and look up every now and then...................

Thursday, April 24, 2014

I've been working on this job for 8 days straight and am still not finished.

When a client contacted me about painting this door I thought it would be a breeze - a piece of cake - a walk in the park - nothing to it, right?

Wood lovers better AM - SCRAY - just giving you a heads up!

And I'm just going to let you all know that these doors were in pretty rough shape - so no tears shed please!

Anyway the client wanted it white - and this little job turned into one of the most frustrating - tear my hair out jobs I've ever done.
The detail involved with all those panes - were a real pain in the glass.................

Oh my gosh - I just noticed the details on their radiators - amazing -
ok - where was I ?

Oh yeah - I almost lost my mind with this job - these doors are very old - and the bleed through was the most severe I've EVER had to deal with in my life...................I shellacked and shellacked and primed and primed and attempted to use chalk paint - but after using 3/4's of a tin and still not finished one door ( in the end it would have cost a couple of hundred dollars in product alone ) - I switched to BEHR floor paint - I bought the same one as I used on my bedroom floor actually - since that's just about as durable as paint comes. 15 panes of glass on each side - so 30 panes of glass to scrape clean !!! ( including varnish that was probably on it for 50 years because it took me days to get that off - but here we go..............

These doors have beautiful details - gorgeous really - and they're much nicer in person where you can actually see those details ( too bad you're stuck with my lousy photography skills ) Here's a close up

There's such pretty curving in the corners - and they're very deeply beveled
and of course the key hole is just perfectly vintageous

It took forever to do - really it did - so when I finished I took a deep breath
.
and started the next one ( didn't I mention they were a pair? )

so now let's see - 15 panes on each side - so that's 30 a door - X 2 doors - ok 60 panes to scrape and clean.................

phew - they're done..................I can snap a couple of photos

before starting on the THIRD one...............OMG - what was I thinking lol

Ok Class - tell me how many panes we're at now - Teacher is too tired to count

90 of them?

In case you're wondering why I didn't tape the windows - there wasn't any use in going to all that work when after the tape came off I'd still be left with this on almost every window !

It was on every window - both sides - and was NOT obvious when they were dark brown.............
Fresh paint can be scraped off like butter - old Varnish? Well I'm not exaggerating when I tell you
I used over 75 blades on these doors :)
I have no feeling in my left hand right now LOL.

I DID, however, tape the etched part on the glass -

I never want to see a french door again ( well except for the 2 I have in my own house that desperately need to be painted - think I'll just replace them - toss them on the curbside LMHO )

These have to be delivered tomorrow night - and that last one isn't finished yet - so you all know what I'll be doing for the entire day :)

Oh and did I mention they belong to the most gorgeous house I've ever stepped into ( and I've stepped into a LOT of gorgeous homes ) This place puts my " I WANNA live there Wednesday " series to shame !